The Prince's End
by Emilie Rose
Summary: Read book 7 first for this to make sense! The last moments and afterlife of Severus Snape.


_Hello, everyone! Welcome to my first fanfic…sort of. This is actually one of many, but the others are still in their notebook stage- not yet typed. I decided to put this one up first because, well, Severus is just that awesome, isn't he? ENJOY!_

_Oh, and these characters don't belong to me. Shame, really… I do love them so…_

_**The Prince's End**_

Severus stood before the Dark Lord, knowing what was coming. He had killed Albus Dumbledore, and was therefore the master of the Elder Wand. But Voldemort stood before him, clutching the all-powerful wand in his long-fingered hand, desperate to be its master.

He did not fear death; in fact it would probably be a wonderful reward after living such a tiring life of duplicity for so many years. Severus was tired of al his lies, tired of working himself to exhaustion to protect people who thought him nothing but the worst sort of Death Eater scum.

The Dark Lord released his beloved Nagini from its protective cage and set it on the frightened man now kneeling before him. Severus had been a useful servant, the death of one so loyal was, indeed, regrettable, but this was necessary.

Severus screamed in agony as the snake sunk her long fangs into the soft flesh of his neck. He fought against her, trying to push her off, but he could do no more than sink to the floor as he was overcome with pain. He felt the snake lift from him and heard the Dark Lord leave the room. _The Dark Lord! _How could he ever believe the ideas of such a twisted man? How could he have once considered himself one of his closest followers?

Desperate to slow the torrent of blood gushing from him, Severus pressed his shaking fingers to the wounds in his neck. This did nothing, however, for the holes made by the snake's fangs were so large, his fingers merely sunk into them. He bit his thin lip, trying in vain to hold in soft whimpers of pain.

Severus froze suddenly. There! There it was again! Over the rushing of blood in his ears, Severus could hear the sound of someone approaching him. Turning his head toward the noise, he saw the face of the man he hated most. James Potter was staring down at him.

But… it couldn't be Potter. He was dead. And besides, those weren't the contempt-filled brown eyes of James Potter. They were _her_ eyes. Those perfect emerald eyes that had haunted his dreams for so long…The eyes that wordlessly told him everything he ever needed to hear. Except, she was dead, too.

Potter! Not James, but Harry! It was the boy! Dumbledore had wanted Severus to tell Harry…something. What was it?

Yes, of course. It was the awful truth that the boy had to perish to win his fight against the Dark Lord. After all everyone had done to protect the boy, he would still have to die. Even after Lily's sacrifice.

"Take…it….Take…it…." Severus choked out, relinquishing his memories to the little glass jar the Granger girl held in her hand. Somehow, he couldn't stop himself from addend irrelevant memories to the pool of thoughts surrounding him. Irrelevant, yes, but not unimportant. They were bits of his childhood, memories of times with his best friend, the only true friend Severus had ever known.

With these flashes of the past, young Potter would be able to piece together the tale of a greasy, unloved Slytherin who had once been given the chance to bask in the presence of an angel, an angel who once cared for him.

It had been Severus's fault that Lily had come to hate him, and his fault that she was now dead. Sometimes he would let himself imagine that he and his dearest love had never parted company. _It could have been me, _he had reasoned. _If I hadn't been so bloody interested in the Dark Arts and wizarding bloodlines, she could have loved me back._

But it hadn't been him. She had married that arrogant toe rag and given him a son. A son just as arrogant as his father. Just as stuck-up and disrespectful as James had been.

Now, however, the boy knelt beside Severus as the older man's life drained from his body. Desperate for some sort of comfort in his last moments, he searched the space around him for the boy. He realized that he had been clutching at Harry's robes, and immediately loosened his grip.

"Look… at… me…." the dying man gasped. Their eyes met and for a moment, it seemed to Severus that Lily was looking down at him. He could see that sad little smile she always wore when trying to comfort him. But then her face began to fade away; the world around him grew hazy and he felt suddenly cold. Wondering dimly where the pain in his neck had gone, Severus gave way to the darkness.

_Where am I? _Severus wondered. _Oh, God, what happened to me?_

Severus was lying on something soft and, though his eyes were closed, he could tell that wherever he was, it was exceedingly bright. He felt slightly disoriented and a bit dizzy.

As he tried to remember what had just happened, the image of an enormous snake burst into Severus's mind and he suddenly recalled the attack with blinding clarity. _Am I dead?_ He wondered. _I must be._

"Sev? Sev, it's time to wake up." A familiar voice was speaking close to his ear. "Severus, open your eyes. It's alright."

No. No, he was delirious from loosing so much blood. It couldn't be. He'd open his eyes and she would go away.

Someone was running their fingers through his long, greasy hair. He forced his eyes open, expecting the sensation to vanish. It did not, however, and the voice and hand had combined into a wonderful, terrifying mirage that nearly caused Severus to faint.

"You look surprised," murmured Lily. "Didn't you know I'd be waiting for you?"

"I've gone mad," Severus whispered. "I've finally lost my mind."

"Of course you haven't, Sev."

"Then why the bloody hell am I seeing a dead woman?"

Lily's expression melted into the sad smile that Severus had been imagining only minutes- or was it hours- ago. "Because you're dead too, Sev," she told him.

He was stunned. Perhaps this wasn't a dream after all. Where did one go when they died? Was this…heaven?

_Don't be stupid. _Severus scolded himself._ Death Eaters don't get into heaven. Death Eaters aren't allowed to see their true love in the world beyond._

_But I'm not a Death Eater!_ whimpered a small voice in the back of his mind. _Not anymore._

Severus realized that Lily was still speaking to him. "…here now, with me, and everything will be alright. Come on, get up." She stood, offering a helping hand to the man sprawled before her.

He took it; her hand felt just the way he remembered it "Lily, I…" He stopped. What the hell was he supposed to say? _I'm sorry I gave Lord Voldemort information that led him to hunt you down and murder you_? Taking a deep breath, he whispered, "I've missed you."

"There was no need to miss me, Sev. I was always there beside you. Haven't done anything for sixteen and a half years but watch over you and Harry."

"But…" Once again, Severus was at a loss for words. "Don't you hate me?"

"Of course not!" Lily exclaimed. "You didn't mean it, Severus. I know you would never have hurt us on purpose. And you did terrible things, I know, I'm not a fool, but you've changed. You were once a little boy who I loved very much, and you're him again. I can see it in your eyes." She paused and wiped a tear from the corner of one of those beautiful emerald eyes that her son had inherited.

"We're all so proud of you. You've been so very brave." And suddenly, Lily was all over him, clutching him to her perfect, delicate breast, and kissing him.

When she finally stopped, Severus merely stared at her. He had to say something- I love you, perhaps? "D- Does this mean we're… friends again?" he stammered clumsily.

"You've always been my best friend."

They walked hand in hand over snowy white clouds toward a pair of gates made of what appeared to be mother of pearl. "They've all been waiting for you," Lily told her friend with a smile. "I'm sure they're furious that I've been keeping you to myself for so long."

Severus blinked. "Lily, who's waiting?"

At that moment, however, they passed through the gates and were met by a small group of people. Several seconds passed, during which they all stared at Severus. Then, a thin, pale woman with lanky black hair rushed toward the still disoriented man and embraced him.

"M-Mum?" Severus whispered.

"Oh, Severus!" Eileen sobbed "My poor boy, you've made us all so proud." She pulled him as close to her as she could, weeping into his black, greasy hair. After several minutes, she released him and let the next member of their welcoming committee approach Severus.

It was Dumbledore. He extended his right hand toward his newly deceased companion, his blue eyes once again glinting with life. Severus took the hand, noticing that it was no longer black or charred. "Severus," the old man began. "I never meant for it to end this way."

"Don't," Severus answered flatly. "Regret nothing, Dumbledore. I knew full well what I was getting myself into from the beginning. I expected it to end this way."

"You have shown great courage, Severus, especially in these last months. I thank you."

Severus said nothing, for he did not know how to voice what he was feeling. Dumbledore was thanking him? But it should be the other way around. It was Dumbledore who had given him the chance to redeem himself, to do something good with his life!

Before he could say any of these things, however, the man before him had retreated and another man was in his place.

It was the face Severus had been looking at just before he died, but without the redeeming feature of Lily's eyes. James Potter.

Severus thought of simply punching his tormentor squarely in the face, but for the sake of his beloved Lily, resisted. James, too, seemed to be struggling not to attack. He grinned that awful grin that Severus had come to associate with pain and humiliation. "Welcome to the afterlife, Sniv- Severus!" declared James.

Before Severus could think of a response that did not contain profanity, something large and heavy jumped on him from behind.

Swearing loudly, Severus spun around, finding himself face to face with Sirius Black. "H'lo there!" shouted Sirius. "I can see your language hasn't improved much since we last met."

"Sirius!" scolded Lily.

"Right. I'm supposed to be all polite to you now. We'll see how long that lasts, huh, Sniv?"

"Look, Sirius," Lily cut in. "He's just had a bit of a shock with all this. Why don't you just let him get his bearings? Pester him tomorrow if you'd like, but not now." Turning to Severus, she asked, "Would you like to go for a walk?"

Severus nodded and they set off together, hand in hand, away from the others. Groups of people milled about them, through what appeared to be a forest of silver trees, but Severus saw nothing but the woman beside him.

For some time, they were silent, but Lily eventually inquired, "Do you have any questions about this?"

"Probably," came the soft reply. "But I can't really think of them right now. I just… I can't believe I'm seeing you again. Lily-" He stopped suddenly and turned toward his only friend, holding both of her hands in his.

"I regret many things in my life, but nothing as much as hurting you. You were- you _always_ were- my life. I know you love Potter and I expect nothing from you. I deserve nothing from you! I only want to say that… that I love you with all my heart."

Lily pulled her dearest companion into her arms and held him tightly, kissing his temple as she spoke. "Sev, I'm sorry, I could- I could never be in love with you. But I do love you. You're my brother, you're my best friend. I know we both regret the time we wasted apart, but now we'll be together forever. Will that be alright? Will it be enough to be only my friend for eternity?"

Severus pulled away from Lily and gently cupped her face in his hands. Carefully, he tilted his head down and pressed his lips to hers, gently and briefly, but long enough.

"Always," he breathed.

Well? Did you like it? Please review either way so I can improve! Isn't Sev so adorable?


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